Splicer for nonwoven fibers

ABSTRACT

Apparatus having opposable, relatively oscillating surfaces between which the overlapped ends of bundles of fiber strands or slivers are placed for splicing. The splice produced is characterized by the tangling of generally parallel fibers resulting from the action of a component of the oscillation transverse to their direction, and also from the presence of crimp in the fibers.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1936Cavanagh.....................

[72] Inventor Thomas E. Marriner RFD, Tyngsboro, Mass. 01879 [21]AppLNo. 886,583

2,449,349 9/1948 Waugh et al.. 1; 3,492,181 1/1970Riseley.........................

Primary Examiner- Donald E. Watkins fittorney-Kenway, Jenney & Hildreth[22] Filed Dec. 19,1969 [45] Patented Jan.l1,

[54] SPLICER FOR NONWOVEN FIBERS 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs. [52]ABSTRACT: Apparatus having opposable, relatively oscillat- F. l akl awSMRS P m n yeml b T te 0 .rfm 01 I. kfimm emrnf d oo e P Wmhma f o h c In D 6 838 v f Q a-mom l h mfi 6 u e amm SdShC .cn v Ca S fin [SC- m UUS1- f f e en mr- O .lri fidu 57/22 ...B65h 69/06, B65h 69/08 57/22, 23,

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' -ofcrin1p in the fibers.

PATENIEU JAM I I972 FIG. 3

INVENTOR THOMAS E. M RINER SPLICER FOR NONWOVEN FIBERS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The field of this invention generally relates to themanufacture of yarn. More particularly, it relates to means for splicingor hitching together the nonwoven, nontwisted fibers, strands or sliversas they pass through the stages of the manufacturing process from thepreliminary state (the greasy state in the case of wool, for example) tothe finished yarn.

The fibers, strands or slivers, which pass through a sequence of cardingmachines, fiber drafting and combing machines, frequently break atvarious points in the sequence, which necessitates constant attendanceby machine operators. Several methods for splicing have been employedbut have been found objectionable for various reasons. One method is totie the ends to be spliced with a knot. While a knot has sufficientstrength to carry the fibers into a fiber-drafting machine, also calleda pin drafter or a gill box, it cannot pass successfully through themachine and has a tendency to pull out its pins or otherwise causemachine damage. A further objection is that a knot introduces a defectin the form of neps in the fibers that may require removal at a laterstage of manufacture. Machines of this type are generally inoperativewith most kinds of knots.

Another splicing method requires the use of an adhesive to join thefiber ends. This also tends to result in defects and has otherdisadvantages.

A third method, which can be performed successfully, is to overlap andhold together the leading and trailing ends of the fibers to be joined,and to hand-feed them as they enter the next processing machine in thesequence. However, this method is not reliable because it may result inmachine damage when incorrect practices are employed in overlapping thestrands.

Fibers of wool, for example, have a diameter generally between 18 and 34microns, and also possess a natural crimp. Ideally, such fibers shouldbe spliced by a straight-line tangle that is by overlapping them whilemaintaining them in closely parallel positions, causing them to tangleas a result of their close proximity and the mutual engagement of theircrimps. This should be accomplished with minimum fiber breakage andminimum formation of neps or conditions leading to an increase in thenep count. The strength of the splice should be adequate to carry thefibers into the next succeeding machine. Moreover, the splicing shouldbe accomplished with speed to avoid a machine shutdown.

Similar criteria apply to the splicing of other kinds of fibers, eithernatural or synthetic, and whether the crimps are naturally occurring orsynthetically produced.

The methods hitherto commonly used in splicing are heavily dependent onmanual steps and fail to satisfy many of the foregoing criteria.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides novel apparatus capableof satisfying the criteria for ideal splices on natural and syntheticfibers, strands and slivers which for purposes of the followingdescription are referred to simply as fiber bundles. This apparatus ispreferably hand-held and includes a pair of opposable pressure platesand drive means for causing relative oscillation of the plate surfaces.The fiber bundles to be spliced are overlapped and placed between theplates which apply pressure to the fibers transversely to theirdirection of extent while providing an appreciable component ofoscillatory movement that is perpendicular to both the direction of thefibers and the direction of the applied pressure.

This apparatus rapidly performs a splice of sufficient strength for theabove purposes, without making knots or significantly increasing the nepcount. Any defects produced by the machine are generally of such naturethat they can be gilled out in one pass through a fiber-draftingmachine. Splicing may be performed without stopping the machine, therebytending to facilitate a more fully automatic manufacturing process.

This apparatus takes full advantage of any available crimp in the fibersand also any lateral surface protuberances, irregularities anddiscontinuities thereon, such as the serrations on wool fibers, whethernaturally occurring or artifical, to give strength to the splice. Italso does not break the fibers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of apreferred embodiment of the invention of the open position.

FIG. 2 is a similar elevation showing the same embodiment in the closedposition.

FIG. 3 is a detail elevation showing the positions of the fibers to bespliced in the closed machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2is supported on a metal frame 12 which may be hand held by a handle 14attached thereto by a bolt and nut 16. The frame may be fabricated inany convenient manner and may comprise one or more parts fastenedtogether by welding or in any other convenient way. The bottom of theframe comprises a rectangular baseplate 18 at one end of which is anintegral backplate 20 for fastening the handle, braced by side gussets22. These latter have holes for pivotally attaching a pair of arms 24 bymeans of pins 26.

The other ends of the arms 24 are pivotally attached at 28 to a bracket30 which is rigidly attached by bolts 32 to a motor housing 34. The samebolts 32 fasten a thumb plate 35 to the housing 34. The housinginternally supports an electrical motor (not shown) having an armatureshaft 36 with an eccentrically positioned, headed drive pin extension 38freely turnable in a hole in a rectangular upper plate 40. The upperplate is thereby supported on the shaft 36 and is driven eccentricallyby it. The upper plate is restrained from rotation as a whole, whileevery point of its surface is caused to describe a circular path of theidentical small diameter. It has been found that a diameter of aboutoneor two-tenths of an inch is successful, for example. The housing,motor and plate may be constructed in substantially the same manner asthe corresponding parts of an orbital sanding machine of the type now incommon use for furniture finishing and the like. A power cord 42 extendsto an electrical outlet. An off-on switch 44 has connections extendingfrom the housing 34, and is fastened to the backplate 20 and completes acircuit from the cord 42 to the motor.

The bracket 30 has two limit pins 46 projecting from it on each side inposition to limit the pivotal movement of the arms 24 relative to thehousing 34. As shown in FIG. I, the pins are located so as to insure asufficient wide opening for easy insertion of the overlapped ends offiber bundles 48 and 50 to be spliced when the thumb plate 35 isdepressed. As shown in FIG. 2, the pins are also located so as to permitself-leveling of the upper plate 40 on the baseplate 18 when the thumbplate is released.

The base and upper plates are preferably both covered with sheets ofsandpaper 52 and 54, respectively (FIG. 3), either clamped byconventional means or adhesively attached to their respective surfaces.Sandpaper of 60 grit has been found satisfactory. In the alternativeother coverings may be employed, such as card clothing, felt pads,rubber or plastic material, leather, steel or combinations of theforegoing or similar materials, with flat surfaces or with ridged orotherwise textured surfaces.

In operation, the machine is carried to the location where a splice isrequired, the thumb plate 35 is depressed to move the parts to the openposition shown in FIG. 1, the overlapped, parallel fiber bundles 48 and50 are manually inserted in the position shown with the overlappingregion entirely within the machine as shown in FIG. 3, and the machineis closed to the position shown in FIG. 2. In this position, thepressure of the upper plate is brought to bear directly upon theoverlapped fiber bundles and is produced by the weight of the pivotedparts, principally including the housing 34 and the motor. By the use ofauxiliary springs (not shown) this gravitational pressure may be eitheraugmented or diminished in order to produce the optimum net pressure tohold the fibers close together while the machine is operating.

Next, the motor switch 44 is turned on, causing the upper plate 40 tooscillate at a substantial rate, thereby shaking or rubbing the fiberstogether. In normal use, the machine is left on for a few seconds only,after which it is shut off and opened to remove the completed splice 56(FIG. 2). The splice has sufficient strength for the purpose indicatedabove as a result of the fact that a component of the oscillation,produced in the fibers by their frictional engagement with the upper andbaseplates, is normal to their direction of extent, in addition to beingnormal to the direction of applied pressure.

It has been noted that various factors have an influence on thecharacter and strength of the splice obtained. One of these is the speedof oscillation. Experiments were conducted on machines ranging in speedfrom 4,200 rpm. to 9,000 r.p.m. with good results. In general, slowerspeeds resulted in an increase in the time of operation required for anacceptable splice. The machines used in successful tests had diametersof oscillation ranging from about 0. 109 inch to about 0.181 inch.

A further influence on the time required for splicing is the grade ofthe fiber bundles being spliced. In general, woolen card sliversrequired more time than strands of wool top, and the finer diametergrades of wool required less time. As typical examples, for a 66's gradewool and using a 4,200-r.p.m. machine, top required about 5 seconds asagainst about seconds for a card sliver. For 80s grade wool, toprequired about 2 seconds and for 50s grade wool, top required aboutseconds.

The pressure on the fibers is also a factor as noted above. It should besufficient to hold the fibers in intimate contact but not so great as tointerfere with vigorous partially random fiber agitation laterally totheir direction of extent.

The extent of the overlap of the fiber bundles has a bearing on thestrength of the splice when the overlap is small. For example, thestrength of a typical splice increases substantially with increasingoverlap of wool slivers, up to about 3 inches. Above this figure,increasing overlap does not significantly increase strength and istherefore usually unnecessary.

The moisture content of the fibers has also been shown to influence thestrength of the splice and the time required to make it. This isparticularly true in the case of wool, with which it has been shown thatfibers with about 15 percent moisture content will splice substantiallymore readily than fibers with about 5 percent moisture content. Toincrease the moisture content, a variety of means may be readilyemployed. These means may be integral with or fastened to the machine ofFIGS. 1 and 2, or they may be entirely separate. They include, forexample, various dispensers for water in the form of drops, spray, vaporor steam jets, such as those used on domestic steam irons, and suchmeans may be fitted with dials to control the dispensers as a functionof the grade of wool being processed. The moisture may impinge directlyon the fibers in the overlapped region when the device is open as inFIG. 1, or it may reach the fibers when the device is in closed positionthrough suitable holes in the opposing plates.

In a similar manner, provision may be made to introduce heat to producean optimum condition for forming the splices.

Various modifications may be made in the foregoing apparatus, ifdesired. For example, while a circular orbital or two-dimensional typeof motion is used in this embodiment, a straight reciprocal orone-dimensional motion may also be employed, in which case the dimensionin which the motion occurs lies transverse or normal to the direction ofextent of the fibers. Also, while only the upper plate reciprocates inthis embodiment, both plates may be made to reciprocate but in oppositedirections or out of phase with one another. Further, the surfaces ofthe plates may be congruently curved.

While the device shown is electrically driven, other kinds of power maybe employed in the alternative. For example, compressed air orhydraulics may be used to drive the motor, this form of power beingreadily available in or near the processing machines in present use.

The foregoing machine and process may be used to splice such diversefibers as wool and synthetics, including Dacron, nylon, rayon,polypropylenes and polyesters of the type used in yarns.

I claim: I

1. Apparatus for splicing fiber bundles, including a pair of platemembers,

means for separating and closing together opposed surfaces of said platemembers, and

means for oscillating said plate members relatively in the plane of saidopposed surfaces including a motor having a shaft with means foroscillating one plate relatively to the other.

2. The combination of claim 1, with means for urging the plate memberstogether while the means for oscillating are operative.

3. The combination of claim 1, in which the plate members are generallyflat.

4. The combination of claim 1, in which the plate members are pivotallyattached.

5. The combination of claim 1, in which the plate members havefrictional means on said opposed surfaces thereof.

6. The combination of claim 1, in which the plate members have abrasivesheets attached to said opposed surfaces thereof.

7. The combination of claim 1, in which the shaft drives the said oneplate eccentrically.

8. The combination of claim 7, in which every point in the driven platedescribes a path congruent with that of every other point therein.

9. The combination of claim 1, in which a linkage connects the plates.

1. Apparatus for splicing fiber bundles, including a pair of platemembers, means for separating and closing together opposed surfaces ofsaid plate members, and means for oscillating said plate membersrelatively in the plane of said opposed surfaces including a motorhaving a shaft with means for oscillating one plate relatively to theother.
 2. The combination of claim 1, with means for urging the platemembers together while the means for oscillating are operative.
 3. Thecombination of claim 1, in which the plate members are generally flat.4. The combination of claim 1, in which the plate members are pivotallyattached.
 5. The combination of claim 1, in which the plate members havefrictional means on said opposed surfaces thereof.
 6. The combination ofclaim 1, in which the plate members have abrasive sheets attached tosaid opposed surfaces thereof.
 7. The combination of claim 1, in whichthe shaft drives the said one plate eccentrically.
 8. The combination ofclaim 7, in which every point in the driven plate describes a pathcongruent with that of every other point therein.
 9. The combination ofclaim 1, in which a linkage connects the plates.